186 DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT FISHERIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



minutes at low pressure The shells gape open and the meats are easily 

 removed. After washing, the meats are graded for size. If to be packed 

 as whole oysters, the meats and oyster juice or brine are packed into 

 the 201 X 400 can and sterilized in the retort. Meats diced, sliced, and 

 packed with milk, butter, salt, and MSG produce a ready-made oyster 

 stew, needing only reheating for table use. The 401 X 700 can is used 

 for a product known as stew base. Stew base is sliced or diced oyster 

 meats with oyster juice, salt, and MSG added. Restaurants and institu- 

 tions need only add milk and butter to serve as oyster stew. For the 

 retail trade oyster stew is marketed in the 201 X 400 size container. 

 Oysters, smoked and packed with vegetable oil, are marketed in the 3?4 

 ounce glass jar or in the 301 X 106 metal container and also in the regular 

 sardine rectangular can. 



By-Products. Oyster shells are an important source of poultry lime 

 supplement and, when ground to a flour, are a supplement to stock feed. 

 In some areas where shells are plentiful, especially in the Gulf states, 

 oyster shells have been an important road building material. Oyster 

 growers return empty, clean shells to the beds in large quantities as a 

 "cultch" to collect young oyster spat. 



Composition. Oysters have considerable value from a dietary stand- 

 point. They contain glycogen, are low in fat, and are high in minerals 

 needed by the body. 



Glycogen, varies from 3% to 22% 

 Copper 7 ppm 



Iron 160 ppm 



Zinc 60 ppm 



Importance of the Industry. In 1959 the United States oyster fishery 

 produced 64,710,000 pounds having a value of $29,483,0002. Of this pro- 

 duction, 60 per cent were taken on the Atlantic Coast, principally in 

 Chesapeake Bay; 21 per cent in the Gulf of Mexico area; and 19 per cent 

 on the Pacific Coast, principally in Washington. 



The Clam Fishery 



Like the oyster, the clam was an important source of food for the 

 early-day colonists on the Atlantic Coast. Vast beds of various species 

 were available at low tide for the taking, and the saying that "when the 

 tide was out the table was set" had real meaning for those struggling 

 to get a foothold in a new land. As the years passed, the clam, which at 

 first was only an article of local trade, liecamc of increasing importance, 

 first as a bait for other species of sea foods and, as transportation improved, 



